Janie
by nherbie
Summary: What happens when Deeks loses someone close to him and the team doesn't seem to care?
1. Chapter 1: Grief

This is my first fan fic. In fact, my first effort at writing anything. I am sure it's not very good but it will not let me sleep, so I put pen to paper (or hands to keyboard) in an effort to stop it spinning around in my head every night. Any mistakes are mine and I do no own anything...NCIS:LA, my house, my car...

Just updated with suggestions and corrections from reviewers. Thanks so much for the input! I hope to continue the story shortly. As requested, this occurs (in my mind anyway) towards the end of season 3. I may have messed up the timeline but hope you can forgive me for it.

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Chapter 1: Grief

Detective Marty Deeks pulled into his parking spot behind the Mission and shut off the engine. He stared out at the dark not knowing why he had ended up here. It was 5:30 in the morning and he wasn't due to start work until 9:30. He had left his apartment when it had started to close in on him. Driving around aimlessly he had assumed he would end up at the beach, the place he always went when he was hurting. Somehow, instead, he had ended up here.

He stared out at the night sky without seeing it, instead seeing a memory. Twelve year old Marty Deeks being introduced to his new foster family by the social worker. It was his third foster home in the last five months. He didn't have high expectations that this one would be any better than the last two until he was introduced to her and fell in love for the first time in his young life. Strawberry blond hair and emerald eyes that had fascinated him. Plus she was an older woman, being all of fourteen. The romantic love had lasted about two weeks and she had allowed him to follow her around like the love sick puppy he was. Once past that stage, they had developed a strong bond during the next eighteen months they were in that foster home together. She had become his sister in all ways but blood.

The grief crashed over him, forcing him out of the car and into the early morning air. He stood with his hands on his knees, bent over, fighting the nausea as memories of the last twelve hours overwhelmed him. When he felt the nausea finally subside he straightened and moved to the front of his car, hoisting himself up on the hood and resting his feet on the bumper, his forearms on his knees. Lost in memories he almost fell off the car when a small hand rested on his left forearm and a soft voice said "I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend Mr. Deeks."

He looked at Henrietta Lange, operations manager and his boss and squeaked out "How..." and stopped. Somehow she always knew and none of them could figure out where she got her information. "She was more than my friend Hetty. She was my sister." he replied.

Hetty frowned; her file on Detective Deeks was extensive and did not include any siblings. "Sister?" she responded.

"Well, foster sister but sister none the less" he replied his voice cracking and eyes filling with tears.

He looked away from her and fought them back. Marty Deeks had been taught at a very young age that men didn't cry. It wasn't manly and crying led to punishment. "Tears do not make a man less of a man Mr. Deeks, they simply make him human." Hetty said. The words unleashed something in him and he rested his head on his forearms and started to cry. For the woman she had been, for the loss of her in his life, for the guilt that he hadn't been able to save her, for all the things that she was never going to be able to experience. Once the storm had passed and the tears stopped, he looked up and ran his right hand over his face trying to remove the evidence. "Tell me about her?"


	2. Chapter 2: Memories

Chapter 2: Memories

"Tell me about her?" He looked at Hetty and saw only sincerity and concern on her face.

"You already know I shot my father when I was eleven and that it was self-defense. I'm sure you also know that my mom got cancer and died when I was barely twelve. I was put into foster care as there were no other relatives who could or would take me in" he began. Hetty simply nodded, waiting for him to gather his thoughts.

He looked back out into the dark and began at the beginning of Janie. How he had met her in foster care, how the bond of brother and sister had come about. They'd been split up when their foster mother had been in a bad car accident and their foster father couldn't care for both his wife and the children in their charge. Even though they had been sent to different homes, they were never more than a walk, bike or bus ride away from each other.

When he was fourteen and Ray fifteen, they had gotten arrested after stealing a Camaro. Janie had been the one to come and get them out. She had lectured them about the path their lives were taking. The lecture had rolled right off Ray's back like water off a duck, but it had touched something in him. He didn't ever want to be his father. He was going to do something with his life, he wasn't worthless. The public defender who had been assigned to him had been a good man and had worked hard to get him out of the jam he'd gotten himself into. He had found himself thinking about the law.

She hadn't wanted college, she had simply wanted to get out of school and start living her life. He now wanted something more. School had always been easy for him and he had the grades to prove it. When Janie had graduated high school she got a job with a law firm doing filing. It wasn't much money but it was enough to allow her to share an apartment with two other girls. When he graduated she had introduced him to an older lawyer at her firm who had taken a fatherly interest in her. His own daughter lived across the country in New York with her husband and children and he had missed them. Janie had become a surrogate daughter. Steve Chapman was a good man and a good lawyer. He had helped Marty apply to college, find scholarships and grants to help pay for his schooling. He had even written a letter of recommendation to Pepperdine, his Alma Mater. Marty was pretty sure this was one of the major reasons he had been accepted. He had been upfront with Steve from the beginning. He was not going into the law to defend criminals or broker real estate deals. Even then he had planned on becoming a Public Defender. Steve had been fine with that, he had even approved.

His years at under grad and then law school had flown and Steve, Janie and Ray had been at both graduations. Janie had been with him to celebrate his passing the California bar on his first try, his acceptance to the Public Defender's Office; she had been there to celebrate his first win, to commiserate when he lost. They had helped each other through love affairs begun and ended. She had been at his side during the whole Sylvia Gray debacle. She had supported his decision to stop being a lawyer and become a cop. Once again, she was at the police academy graduation, they had lost touch with Ray at that point and Steve had passed away from a heart attack. The only decision he made that she had ever actively argued against was his going into undercover work. She was scared it was too dangerous and that she would lose him.

And then it had all gone south. She had met someone and fallen in love for real. His name was Paul Rhoades and he was successful, came from a well-to-do family and wanted a future with Janie. He was so happy for her. After several months of them dating, Marty had finally gotten to meet Paul and had taken an instant dislike to him. There was something about the man that strongly reminded Marty of his own father. It was something dark and violent. He'd tried to tell Janie, but she had accused him of being jealous, of not wanting her to have someone in her life because he was alone. He was hurt that she could think that of him and they had exchanged nasty words for the first time in their history. How could she think he would ever want anything for her but happiness? They didn't speak for several weeks but, eventually, the bond was stronger than the anger and they made up. He still didn't like Paul and so they left him out of any plans they made. Plans that were fewer and farther between as he was gone for weeks, sometimes months for his undercover work and she was busy with Paul.

He spoke of how he felt when he had received the wedding invitation. His sense of foreboding. His worry that Janie was right, that he was just jealous. What kind of man did that make him? The wedding was in Paul's home town of Tacoma, Washington and Marty had made sure he was there for it. When he was introduced to Paul's family, he had gotten the same feeling about his dad and brother Carl that he had about Paul. Paul's mother was a cold fish and it had been readily apparent to Marty that she didn't think Janie was good enough for her son. He had spoken to Janie the night before the wedding, telling her that if she decided not to go through with it, he would support her. She had not taken that well at all and they were estranged once again.

Once he had returned home from the wedding and they were off on their honeymoon, an undercover op had come up that caused him to be away for almost four months. When he had finally returned home, he called her to make amends, to see how she was doing. The cell phone number he had for her was disconnected, his emails to her bounced back as undeliverable. He had gone by her job as he wasn't sure where they were living. He'd been stunned when he was told that Janie had quit and she and Paul had moved to Tacoma. He was told that she was happy, that Paul had gotten a new job there and they would be closer to his family, now hers. There had been no phone message, no email, no letter telling him she was leaving or how to get in touch with her. He had been devastated. Her leaving had left a huge hole in his life. Even when they weren't talking, he had always known where she was, now, there was nothing.

He had gotten on with his life. He worked hard at his job and had a good success rate taking down the bad guys. He had been offered and accepted the liaison position with NCIS and it had opened new worlds for him. He still missed her, thought about her, and hoped she was doing well.

Then Sunday, yesterday, he had gotten a phone call. The caller id was unknown but said Tacoma Washington. His heart had sped up. Was she finally reaching out to him after all this time? He had answered quickly and heard her voice for the first time in years and it was like no time had passed. She had been crying and telling him that he had been right about Paul. Once they were married, he had systematically cut her off from all her old friends especially Marty, her support system. When they had moved to Tacoma he hadn't allowed her to get a job, to make new friends. She was only allowed acquaintances from the various charities he picked for her to work on. His mother had never shown any interest in her and she was afraid of his dad and Carl. Then he had started beating her. Never where it would show, always where it could be hidden with long sleeves or pants. She had no one to go to. His family was well respected in Tacoma and Paul's dad was friends with the Police Chief and most of the judges in the area.

It had finally come to a head that morning. He had left her bruised and bloodied for some imagined failing on her part and then had calmly left to meet friends for a round of golf. When she had gotten herself back together, she had made the decision that she was better than this, that she was done letting him do this to her. So she had left, walking out the door with the clothes on her back and whatever money she had in her wallet, not that there was much. Paul had controlled all the money and rarely let her have very much. She had walked for what seemed like miles and had finally reached a street with a bus route. She had hopped on the first bus that had come along and found her way into downtown Tacoma. Once there, she had found a cheap hotel where she could sign in with cash and no luggage. She was afraid to use the one credit card he allowed her, afraid he could use it to find her. Once in her room, the first thing she did was call Marty.

He had offered to book a flight for her to come to LA but she was too scared to get to the airport on her own, so long used to having someone else dictate her life. She had wanted him to come get her. He had assured her he would be there as quickly as humanly possible. While she was on the phone with him he had booked a flight from LAX to Tacoma leaving Monday night at 9:30PM. It was the earliest flight he could get plus he needed to get things in order, finish whatever paperwork was outstanding as he was planning on taking a vacation from both LAPD and NCIS. He would use the time off to get her settled, to start on a restraining order, divorce proceedings. He had called Lt. Bates and gotten the approval for a two week vacation from him. He had planned on coming in today and requesting the same from Hetty. He was not actively on a case for either agency and had been grateful for that. He had told Janie to stay put, not to go out where someone might spot her and report it back to Paul. She was to order room service if she got hungry and he would pay the bill when he got there. She had been so happy and grateful and had agreed to stay in the room.

After hanging up from her he had started to get ready. He packed a bag as he was planning on leaving for the airport directly from work the next day. He had fairly vibrated with the excitement of seeing her again, of getting her away from this dangerous situation, of having his sister back. That had lasted all of three hours. The next time his phone rang, it was again a Tacoma number but this time the caller id hadn't been blocked, it had read Tacoma Police Department. He had known before he picked up the phone so he had answered it "Detective Martin Deeks" instead of his usual "Deeks". The person on the other end had paused and then introduced himself as Detective Stan Shuler with the Tacoma PD. He had asked about his relationship with Janie and seemed surprised when Marty had said sister. When he had asked the Tacoma detective what was going on, he had hesitated and then softly told Marty that his sister had been shot by her husband before he had turned the gun on himself. The shots were heard and the police called. Unfortunately, they were both pronounced dead at the scene. Deek's number had been the last one called from Janie's hotel room so the detective had called it. He didn't remember the rest of the conversation. Didn't even remember hanging up the phone. He had paced his empty apartment until the loneliness had driven him out into the night and he had ended up here.

"Oh my dear Mr. Deeks, I am, again, so truly sorry" Hetty said as the detective finally wound down. He looked up and was surprised to see the sun had risen. How long had he been talking about Janie? He looked down at his watch and was stunned to see it was 7:30. He'd been talking about Janie for almost two hours.

He looked at Hetty and without thinking said "I think she would have liked you very much Hetty."

She softly replied "I know I would have liked her too, Marty." He was surprised at the use of his first name. Rarely did she refer to any of the agents, techs or other staff that worked at the Mission by their first name. She smiled sadly at him and said "Let's go inside, shall we?"


	3. Chapter 3: Bad Decisions

Chapter 3: Bad Decisions

Once inside the Mission, he sat at his desk and booted up his laptop only to stare at it blindly, the anger building. Finally he got up and headed to the gym. He changed into workout clothes and beat the hell out of the heavy bag which had suddenly taken on Paul Rhoades' face. After an hour, the anger was gone, only sadness and grief remaining. He showered and changed back into his street clothes and was back at his desk by 9:00. He started methodically working through the backlog of paperwork he needed to do. He was still planning on going to Tacoma tonight. He would stay until Janie was buried and only then would he return.

When Callen and Sam came in just before 9:30 they were surprised that the shaggy haired detective had beaten them in and was already hard at work. Sam said to Callen, "Look what we got here G, an early Shaggy. Did you feel the Earth shift last night?"

Callen responded with a "Nope. It must have been something major though to get him in here before 9:35." Waiting for Deeks to respond with some joke, the two agents were surprised when he didn't even look up. They looked at each other and were about to say something when Kensi strolled in.

She was also surprised to see her partner here early. "What's this? Why are you here?" she asked.

He finally looked up and quietly replied "I work here Kensi." He then returned to his work, in no mood for banter or teasing. The other three exchanged looks and shrugs and went about getting ready for their day.

As the day progressed, the normally talkative, sunny detective's lack of chatter and jokes had begun to have an effect on the other agents on his team. They began trying to get a rise out him, the teasing going from lighthearted to somewhere just short of mean spirited as he continued to not respond. At one last foray from Kensi, Deeks had finally snapped and said harshly "Shut it, Kensi, just shut it!" His partner had stared at him in shock, her mouth a perfect O. She had only heard that tone from some of his undercover aliases like Max Gentry and never aimed at her. Callen and Sam had instantly come to her defense. Callen calling him out for crossing a line, Sam ordering him to apologize. He had just looked at the two of them. Seriously, after all the things they had said to him over the course of the morning, this is the reaction the two of them had? Of course, they were always on Kensi's side, never taking his. He should really not have been surprised.

He got up and stormed out, not saying anything. On his way out he heard Sam ask Kensi, deliberately loud enough for him to hear "What's up with your partner Kens? Is it his time of the month?"

Callen had laughed and Deeks had waited for Kensi's response. Come on Kens, he thought, stick up for me for once. Don't take their side against me. He knew his partner always had his back out in the field, but it never seemed to make it back to the office. She always sided with "the boys" against him. The agents against the lowly cop.

He heard her laughing reply "I'm not sure. Let's go through his man purse and see if we find any sanitary supplies!" Her response broke his heart a little more and he made a quick decision. He knew it wasn't a good idea to make life altering decisions when in the frame of mind he was in but he couldn't seem to talk himself out of it.

Not knowing where to go, he found himself at the firing range. He put up a target, put on the ear protection and pulled out his gun. He had been practicing shooting with his left hand, figuring that at some point, he might not have use of his right and would need to be able to defend himself or his team using his non dominant hand. Again, he pictured the face of Paul Rhoades, this time on the target and was surprised to see the neat grouping of shots at the head and heart when he pulled the target back.

He headed back to the bullpen and stopped just inside. He looked at Kensi and said "I'm sorry I spoke to you like that Kensi, it will never happen again." in his mind he added "because I won't be here to do it." She nodded her acceptance of his apology and watched her partner sit back down at his desk.

Kensi knew something was up with him but she didn't know how to make him talk. He was always talking, it was usually her that withdrew into silence. She wasn't good at emotions and she hated seeing someone she cared so much about behaving abnormally and not knowing what to do about it. Maybe she'd take him out to dinner after work and get him to open up away from everyone. Satisfied with that decision, she went back to her own work.

Sam and Callen had spoken about the detective while he was out of the room, both speculating on what was up with him. Neither had any idea and it had been decided that Callen, as team leader, would try to get Deeks to open up about what was obviously bothering him so much. As he opened his mouth to speak to him, Deek's phone rang. The detective picked it up, looked at the number and answered "Deeks" as he got up from his desk and walked out of the Mission.

Callen decided to let the day run its course, and if tomorrow their Liaison and friend was still in a funk, he would deal with it then. He hated dealing with touchy feely things.

Watching Deeks leave the room to take a personal call was weird. Sam looked at Callen to see if the team lead had figured out what he was going to do about the tension in the room. Callen shook his head and mouthed "tomorrow" at him. He wasn't sure that was the right decision but it wasn't his call. He'd keep an eye on Deeks and see how things went. He thought about what he knew about the younger man and decided Deeks would tell them about whatever was going on in his own time, in great and annoying detail. Just like he always shared too much about what was going on in his life, always in too much detail.


	4. Chapter 4: Fallout

Chapter 4: Fallout

The last of his side of the conversation the three agents heard was "Yes Detective Shuler" and then he was out of ear shot. The three agents looked at each other in surprise. Deeks never left the bullpen to take personal calls; he was more than happy to tease the others with the cryptic sentences he allowed them to hear as his part of the conversation.

Callen asked Kensi "Do you know this Detective Shuler?" figuring he was LAPD.

Kensi replied "No, but then I don't know all the people he works cases on with there."

Deeks conversation with the Tacoma Detective went from bad to worse. He had called Marty to tell him that the Rhoades family did not plan on taking responsibility for Janie's body and burial. In fact, they had stated that she was the one responsible for the whole situation. His mother had even gone so far as to call Janie a gold digger and adulterer who had driven her wonderful son to distraction and a desperate act of violence. Janie was to blame for all of it. Deeks couldn't believe what he was hearing and blew up at the detective who quickly reminded him, he was the messenger, that he didn't believe any of it. He even stated that he had heard things about Paul Rhoades behavior with other girl friends over the years that made him believe that Janie had, in fact, been abused and had not done anything to bring about what had happened. Deeks calmed down and thanked the detective for the call. "What are you going to do?" Shuler asked.

"I'm coming to Tacoma to bring my sister home. I'll be there tonight" Deeks replied and provided the Tacoma detective with the flight information. They said good bye and he hung up the phone. Could this day get any worse he thought?

He turned and punched the brick wall behind him. "I hardly think that is constructive Mr. Deeks" he heard from behind him. His heart skipped a beat but he didn't jump. He was becoming used to Hetty appearing out of nowhere, knowing everything. He would miss that. He turned and looked at her.

"They're trying to make her into the bad guy and her husband into the victim Hetty." Hetty looked at the defeated young man in front of her and her heart went out to him. While she would never admit it to the rest of the team, or anyone else for that matter, Marty was more accurate than he would ever know when he laughingly told everyone that he was "Hetty's favorite". The detective had wormed his way into her heart, and, if she was not mistaken, the hearts of his team.

She listened to him tell her about the Rhoades' rejection of his sister and his panic over what to do next, his admission that he had never had to deal with anything like this before. "Leave it to me Mr. Deeks." Hetty said. "I will make all the necessary arrangements for you." The relief that passed over his face was worth the effort she was going to need to expend to get him and Janie Rhoades's body onto the quickest flight home to LA and the body delivered to a local mortuary. She patted him on the back and told him she would give him the specifics when she was done. She headed into the Mission, leaving behind a still agitated Deeks.

He paced the parking lot until he could get his emotions under control. He looked at his bleeding knuckles and wondered how he would explain them. Who was he kidding, he wouldn't need an explanation, no one would notice anyway. Heading back into the mission he decided he was not going to let the others get to him. He sat at his desk offering no explanation for the call, the bleeding knuckles or his disappearance. He simply sat at his desk and signed back into his laptop. As he expected, no one questioned him, asked him if everything was okay, not realizing his team mates were well aware something was wrong and were trying to figure out the best way to approach him. He hadn't exactly been giving off friendly vibes all day. Unfortunately, the silence only helped to reinforce his decision.

A short while later Hetty stopped by his desk with an envelope and told him everything was all set. He opened it, aware of the curious eyes on him. He and Janie were on a flight from Tacoma to LA on Thursday morning. In addition, a local mortuary would meet them at LAX and take possession of the body. It would then be up to him to decide what funeral arrangements he would like for her. He folded the paper back up, put it back in the envelope and stuck it in his bag, issuing a quiet thank you to Hetty. He then went back to work without giving the other three the information they so desperately wanted about what was going on. In another time and place, Deeks would have milked this for all he was worth, now he just let it go. In another time and place, the agents would have been on him unmercifully to find out what was in the envelope from their boss, now they just let it go.

By late afternoon, he finally finished up all his outstanding paperwork for NCIS and LAPD. Once everything was done and filed, he signed into the LAPD database and began pulling together dossiers on several detectives he thought might be a good fit as a Liaison Officer. Once that was completed, he composed a simple letter of resignation that was effective immediately. He then began sanitizing his laptop, removing any and all personal and/or confidential items except the dossiers and his resignation letter. He would delete those once he had printed everything after the others left. He paused when he opened the file of pictures. He pulled a thumb drive out of his messenger bag and moved all the pictures onto it. He would decide later which, if any, he wanted to keep.

Once the laptop was done, he composed an email to Nell and one to Eric to be delivered at 9:45 the next morning. He knew that both of them obsessively checked their in boxes and didn't want to upset them tonight. At least, he hoped the two of them might be a little upset that he was gone.

He heard sighs of relief from the three agents when quitting time finally rolled around. It had been a long day and they were all ready to head out. Kensi looked over at Deeks who was still working. She frowned; this also out of character for her partner. He would work around the clock when they were on a case, but when it came to paperwork, he was poised to leave at quitting time like a race horse in the gate at the start of a race.

She got up and looked pointedly at the two senior agents. "Hey, who wants to a head out and get something to eat? Maybe a couple drinks?" She nodded towards Deeks downturned head, worry clear on her face. Both Sam and Callen called out that they were in and they waited expectantly for Deek's reply.

When he didn't respond, Callen asked him "Deeks are you in?"

He looked up and finally replied, "No thanks, got plans tonight."

Sam laughed and asked him "Got a date tonight Deeks?"

Deeks decided it wouldn't hurt for them to think that, it would mean fewer questions so he replied "Yes, as a matter of fact I do".

Callen was surprised. He was so sure their young Liaison Officer was head over heels in love with his partner and she with him, though neither one would admit it to anyone including themselves. He had not heard either one talk about dating someone or hooking up for several months. He risked a quick look at Kensi's face and saw the hurt on it before she carefully blanked out her expression. "Damn," he thought, "looks like I was only half right."

Sam continued to tease Deeks, not really believing he was going out on a date. Like Callen, he had suspicions on how the two partners felt about each other. "So, what's her name?"

He was taken aback when Deeks quietly replied "Janie" in a soft voice. He could hear the love for this woman in just the one word answer.

"Wow, sounds like someone is in love. You love this woman Deeks?"

The fierce response of "With all my heart and everything in me." took Sam by surprise.

"Ok then, well, have fun. We'll see you tomorrow." He, too, risked a look at Kensi and saw the utter devastation on her face at Deek's words.

As the three agents were leaving the bullpen, Nell and Eric came bounding down the stairs from Ops and were quickly invited for dinner and drinks, which invitation they happily accepted. Both turned to look at Deeks who was simply looking at them impassively. Eric asked "You coming dude?' and was told Deeks had other plans. Eric hadn't seen much of his surfing buddy that day and wasn't happy about the way he was acting now. He opened his mouth to say something but was pulled along in the wake of the others rushing out of the Mission and away from the dreaded paperwork.

None of them heard the softly spoken "Good-bye" that came from Deeks.


	5. Chapter 5: Aftermath

Chapter 5: Aftermath

Hetty strode into the Mission at 8:30 the next morning, happy with how her evening had gone last night. Dinner with old friends always made her feel good, it meant they were all still alive. She paused as her desk came into her line of sight. She saw the pile of items on her desk. It looked like a laptop, file folders and a couple of envelopes. While everyone was convinced that Hetty knew everything, there were times she could be taken unawares just like anyone else and this was one of those times. She did not have a good feeling about this and slowly continued on to her desk.

There were two envelopes on top of the pile, one addressed to Henrietta Lange and the other simply to Hetty. She opened the more formal of the two and, after reading it, sat down heavily in her chair and said "Bugger". It was a letter of resignation from her Liaison Officer. She now knew whose laptop sat at the bottom of the pile and had a suspicion of what she would find in the file folders. She slowly picked up the more informally addressed envelope and pulled out a hand written letter addressed to her from Deeks. Before reading, she inconsequentially noted that Mr. Deeks had rather elegant handwriting. Pretty much everything she received from him was normally electronic or typed.

Dear Hetty,

I am sorry that this is how it ends. I know I owe you an explanation but first I want to say thank you. You gave me a place where I felt at home, where I felt that I finally, truly belonged. Unfortunately, reality came crashing in today. I've been fooling myself. Per usual, I do not fit in nor do I belong.

I am so tired Hetty. Tired of the teasing and taunts because the four letters on my badge don't match the four letters on theirs. Tired of the disrespect and disdain aimed at me because I'm just a cop, because I don't have a military background or at least family in the military. I'm tired of being Kensi's personal punching bag.

I know I brought some of it on myself. I only showed them what I wanted them to see but I was hoping at least for some respect for the work I've done here. Instead I get halfhearted "Good work Shaggy" comments, almost like they didn't believe I had it in me and that it was just a fluke. I had really hoped that they would make an effort to see beneath the mask but no one even made an attempt.

I've worked hard since I joined LAPD and I'm proud of what I've done. Right now I don't know if I will even continue on with them or not. It may be time for a total change of scenery but I need to get Janie home and taken care of before I make any other decisions.

I hope you are not too disappointed in me and will take my calls in the future. I hope that you will join me for dinner or drinks and we can continue a relationship outside of NCIS. I would really like to have you remain in my life but will understand if you are too angry with me to accept.

Know that I love you,

Marty

Hetty put the letter down and sighed. She had no intention of accepting his resignation until she had made every effort to change his mind, so picked up the envelope containing it and placed it in her desk drawer…on top of hers. If she was unable to change his mind, then he would most certainly remain in her life and she would look after him even if he was no longer working at NCIS or LAPD. Once you were one of hers, you remained one of hers.

She looked through the file folders and found them to be dossiers on LAPD detectives as she had expected. Inside was also a typed recommendation on each from Mr. Deeks. She would let Mr. Callen look through these, hoping that this would be a wake up call to the rest of the team. That they would reexamine how they had treated the wonderful young man they had been lucky enough to have in their midst but didn't recognize, who they had, by their unthinking actions, driven away. Hetty Lange was angry. She stared off into space waiting for the work day to begin.

Nell and Eric were the first to arrive and headed up to Ops after a quick good morning to Hetty. Sam and Callen followed shortly, she could hear them bickering about football teams as they headed into the bullpen. Kensi was close on their heels. She waited for them all to settle in and then got up, picking up the file folders on her way. The three agents looked up with a smile and chorused "Good morning Hetty!" She didn't reply, simply headed to Callens' desk and placed the file folders in front of him.

"What are these Hetty?" he asked.

"These are dossiers on five of LAPDs finest detectives Mr. Callen. Please review them and make recommendations on who you would like to interview to be our new LAPD Liaison Officer."

The room erupted around her. Kensi's first question was "Why? We have a Liaison Officer already, why would we need another one?" She looked over at her partners' desk and noticed for the first time that all his personal effects were gone. Her heart sank, he'd left her. He'd promised and still he had left her.

Sam went down a different path "Did Deeks finally make the decision to become an agent? Oh man, I want in on his training!" Callen just looked at Hetty searchingly and made the correct conclusion based on the look on her face. Before he could say anything, Nell and Eric came running down from Ops yelling about Deeks. They had both just received and read their emails from him telling them that he was leaving NCIS. Although he hadn't given them any specific reasons, they were smart and quickly figured out why their friend had decided to make such a drastic change.

Nell glared at all three agents and yelled at them, "What did you do to Deeks?" Sam and Kensi looked at them in confusion and Callen just sighed heavily.

"Mr. Deeks tendered his resignation as Liaison Officer last night, effective immediately and no, he did not apply to become an agent." replied Hetty.

"But why?" asked Kensi again.

"Really, Ms. Blye? You have to ask that after the way you treated him yesterday? The way you always treat him?" Kensi at least had the decency to look ashamed, she knew that she teased Deeks about his looks, being a cop, his lack of training, but surely he knew there was no one else she would ever want out in the field having her back! Wait, did she ever let him know that in so many words or did she just assume he knew?

Sam, however, decided to be offended. "How we treated him? We treated him fine Hetty. He was annoying but he had to know that he was part of the team, that he made it better!"

"Really, Mr. Hanna? Mr. Deeks left me a letter explaining his actions. I won't bore you with the details; just give you the more salient points. Disrespect, disdain, don't belong here, personal punching bag. Do any of these words mean anything to anyone?"

Kensi grabbed her bag and started digging for her car keys. Sam and Callen stood up and also started to prepare to leave. There was no way they were going to let their shaggy haired detective get away without putting up a fight. "Where are you all going?" asked Hetty.

Kensi was the one to reply "We're going to Deek's place and drag him back here. If he isn't there, we'll tear apart LAPD Headquarters until we find him and convince him he does so belong here."

"I'm afraid you won't find him at either place Ms. Blye. Mr. Deeks is no longer in Los Angeles, in fact, he is not in California at the moment."

Kensi looked shocked. "He's not? Where is he?"

Hetty responded "Tacoma Washington."

Sam and Callen asked at the same time "Tacoma? Why is he there? An LAPD op?"

"No Mr. Hanna, Mr. Callen he is not on an LAPD op. He went to Tacoma to sign for, and accompany home, the body of his sister who was killed by her husband in a murder/suicide on Sunday."

Stunned silence filled the room.

Kensi recovered first. "He never mentioned a sister. In fact, when he was shot, he didn't even know who to put down as his next of kin!"

"Yes, Ms. Blye, she was, in fact, his foster sister but, as he put it to me, his sister in all but blood. Unfortunately, they have been estranged for several years and he had had no direct contact with her. Sunday, she reached out to him for help and he was heading up there last night to bring her home. Sadly, her husband found her first and killed her, then himself."

Sam had a sick feeling in his stomach. He looked at her and asked "What was his sister's name Hetty?" although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"Janie Carpenter Rhoades."


	6. Chapter 6: Revelations

Chapter 6: Revelations

I might have gone a little overboard on this one. Insert "Ya think?" here. I was trying to remember all the little things about Deeks that the others just ignore. I think Hetty may have passed out from lack of oxygen.

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 _"Janie Carpenter Rhoades."_

"Damn" said Sam "I was afraid you were going to say that."

"Why is that, Mr. Hanna?"

Callen answered "You left before us last night Hetty. We were trying to get Deeks to go out for dinner and drinks after work. We wanted to see if we could get him to tell us what was up with him; we were really worried about him. He said he had a date. When we pressed him for her name, he gave us Janie's."

Hetty sighed. "You waited all day to find out what was wrong with your team mate and then expected him to be available at your convenience?" She addressed this to the group as a whole. Sam looked everywhere but at her, Nell and Eric were still confused as they had no idea any of this had been going on yesterday. Kensi's expression was harder to interpret due to what was going on in her head. She was pleased that Deeks hadn't fallen in love with someone else, but devastated that he had lost someone he obviously cared about deeply and she hadn't tried harder to figure out what was wrong. She couldn't land on an emotion.

Callen was angry with himself, he had been so sure Deeks would open up to them given enough time to work through whatever was going on in that head of his. As team leader, he should have pressed the issue much sooner and not let it slide. How could he have so badly misjudged how the detective would react? He really did appreciate the work Deeks did on his team. Sure, he had some reservations about the man but he thought he had hidden it pretty well.

Sam was the first to give voice to the reasons behind his actions. "Deeks is always telling us in excruciating detail about every little thing that was going on in his life. At first, I thought it would be nice to have peace and quiet. Then I realized just how much I counted on his antics to break up a boring day of paperwork. Honestly, a silent Deeks was beyond disturbing. I can't remember the last time a day went by so slowly since he joined the team. He's usually such an open book that I really did think he would tell us what was wrong if we just gave him enough time and space. Our teasing him was an effort to break through to him and fill the silence, I see now that we went too far."

"An open book, Mr. Hanna? What do you really know about Mr. Deeks besides what he has wanted you to know? Do you know his parents' names? Are they either or both still living? Do you know that he shot his father at the age of 11? That he was in foster care from the age of 12 on? You know he is a lawyer because Detective Traynor let that slip during your debrief on the Lasik case. Do you know how he paid for school? Do you know that he graduated in the top 10% from both Pepperdine under grad and Law? That he graduated with offers from several of LA's top law firms but turned them all down to go into the Public Defender's Office? That he passed the California Bar Exam on his first try? I'm sure you just assumed his grades weren't good enough for anything but a career as a PD. Do you know why he left the law to become a cop? Do you know that he has the highest conviction rate of any LAPD undercover detective? Do you know that the reason the other shields hated him was a combination of jealousy and the same misconceptions that you are all laboring under? How could such a goofball get all those arrests? Must be something else going on, couldn't be his hard work and skills. Have you noticed that the attitude towards him has started to change since he now works mainly with NCIS? LAPD's undercover operations conviction rate has gone down significantly since then and they are finally starting to realize his worth. Have you ever wondered why an undercover cop, who might be away from home weeks to months at a time, would adopt a dog?" Hetty finally wound down and she hadn't told the team all of the things that they didn't know about Deeks. Some were his story to tell, others were her secrets to keep.

At no point during Hetty's tirade did any of the team members, other than Kensi, indicate that they knew the answer to any of these questions and, even for her, most of these facts were a revelation. Sam softly said "I had no idea."

"Indeed Mr. Hanna. You are a trained agent and yet never bothered to notice that there was more to someone you worked with on a daily basis, other than what he was willing to trust you with. And you, Mr. Hanna, are a military snob." Sam's mouth dropped open. He was so taken aback, he couldn't formulate a response. Sure, Deeks wasn't military but he hadn't ridden him that hard about it, had he? He wasn't a snob, he couldn't be. He actually enjoyed Deeks's behavior for the most part, not that he would ever admit that fact to him.

Callen's response was more thoughtful. "Everything you've said only reinforces my reservations about Deeks, Hetty. Yes, he's a good cop and has done excellent work here, but we've all seen him slip in and out of an alias with little to no effort. Aliases like Jason Wyler, a homeless bum, that lawyer Sully and then Max Gentry on more than one occasion. It's made me wonder if we really know him or if Marty Deeks is just another one of his aliases. It makes it hard for me to fully trust him."

Hetty shook her head sadly. "How much do we really know about each other Mr. Callen? Mr. Hanna, some of your teammates were not aware you were married, let alone had children, until you used that knowledge to get closer to a suspect during an interrogation. Ms. Blye, no one was aware of the real reason why you joined NCIS until Assistant Director Granger told us, right before he accused you of multiple murders. Mr. Callen, I won't even go into the details of the many, many things about you that the rest of the team doesn't know. Ms. Jones, your prior relationship with Nate is still a mystery to this team. And Mr. Beale, exactly what were you doing prior to becoming our tech? You've let slip that you are banned from Las Vegas, have you ever told the team why?"

"Obviously I know more about Mr. Deeks than you, but I have seen him start to trust the rest of you enough to let some things slip out. I doubt that, other than Ray, there was anyone else before this team who knew he shot his father. Monty was so badly PTSD that he was about to be put down when Mr. Deeks took him in. No one else wanted him. He had to work very hard with Monty to get that dog to tolerate him, let alone bring him into the Mission with so many strangers. You were the first he trusted with Monty. Now, what exactly do you intend to do about this situation?"

"Get him back" was the unanimous response.

"We need to let him know that he is appreciated and that we're sorry if we went too far." said Sam.

Callen added "We need to let him know that he is an integral part of this team and it just wouldn't be as effective without him. That we need him back here where he belongs."

"It's a start ladies and gentleman. Mr. Deeks and Ms. Rhoades will be on a plane to LAX from Tacoma on Thursday morning. I can give you the details if you want them." Hetty stalked off to her office and started to brew some tea. She needed something to calm her nerves. She could only hope that Mr. Deeks would accept the apologies of his team and come back to them.


	7. Chapter 7: Tacoma

Chapter 7: Tacoma

Something woke Deeks up from a sound sleep. He was instantly alert and somewhat disoriented. He cracked open his left eye, the right being buried in a pillow, and attempted to get his bearings. He was surprised to see a small figure standing by his bed. The sound he had heard was her pressing up against the covers trying to get a better look at him. He was enchanted by the sight of this moppet, her soft brown eyes and curly brown hair, styled by pillow, the same as his. He closed his eye and thought back to last night, or rather early this morning.

A very weary Marty Deeks got off the plane in Tacoma just after midnight. He was the last one off as he just hadn't had the energy to fight the crowd of people trying to squeeze off the plane as quickly as possible. When he reached the end of the ramp, he was surprised to see a man slightly older than himself holding a sign with Deeks on it. He hefted his duffel bag to a more comfortable position on his shoulder and headed over to him. "I'm Marty Deeks" he said.

The older man looked surprised and hesitated. "Detective Marty Deeks?" he asked, emphasizing the detective part. Marty just sighed and nodded his head. "Detective Stan Shuler" the other man said as he put out his hand.

Marty shook it and asked "Why are you here? I wasn't expecting anyone."

Shuler responded with "Call it professional courtesy. In light of the situation, I felt badly that you would be here alone. You know, you're not how I pictured you."

"I do mostly undercover work. Looking like a cop is a sure fire way to get dead." replied Deeks.

Stan Shuler looked at the younger man in front of him and decided he liked what he saw beneath the shaggy hair and scruff. "Come on with me, I'm parked out front. Do you have a hotel reservation?"

"No, I figured I'd just ask the cab driver for a clean, cheap place" Marty replied.

Shuler made a split second decision, one he hoped his wife would be okay with. "Good, that way we don't have to cancel it. You're coming home with me."

Marty was shocked into momentary silence. When he got his voice back he told Shuler he didn't want to impose and would be fine with a hotel room somewhere. Shuler just overrode him, telling him not to be silly, that they had a perfectly good spare bedroom. "Shuler, it's after midnight! I don't want to disrupt your whole household. I'll be fine at a hotel."

Stan looked at the very tired cop in front of him and said "Call me Stan."

"Call me Marty." responded Deeks. And that was the end of that. Deeks was too wiped out to fight about it and Stan was not going to take no for an answer anyway, so why continue to argue?

They made casual conversation on the way to Stan's house, the LA detective's eyes closing once or twice on the ride. When they pulled into the Shuler's driveway, Stan had to shake him awake. He had texted Cheryl that he was bringing Marty home to use the spare bedroom and she had been fine with that, even excited to have a visitor. She pulled the door open when she heard the car drive up. Like her husband, the shaggy haired young man who got out of the passenger seat was a surprise to her but her heart went out to him as she watched his dejected, tired walk up to the front door. When he reached her, he put out his hand and said "Detective Marty Deeks. Please to meet you Mrs. Shuler."

She reached out and pulled him into a hug. "Call me Cheryl. I am so sorry about your sister Marty" she said. She felt a shudder go through his body before he lifted his arms and returned the hug, surprised by the warm welcome he had received from both the Tacoma detective and his wife.

Once in the house, Cheryl offered him some food but he had eaten at the airport in LA while waiting for his flight and all he really needed was a bed. He was about to pass out on his feet. Cheryl and Stan walked him to the guest room and showed him where the bathroom was. They gave him clean towels and told him good night. He stored his bag, went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, walked back into the bedroom, pulled off his boots and lay down on the bed fully clothed. He was asleep in seconds.

Now that he remembered where he was and why, he slid a little closer to the edge and peeked over. His blue eyes met the startled ones of the child who could be no more than four or five. "Hi there" he said softly. He watched her indecision as to whether to reply or bolt from the room. "I'm Marty, are you Stan's sister?" he asked.

The little girl giggled and said "No silly, he's my daddy!"

"Really? How old are?" Marty responded.

"I'se four." she replied.

"Wow, I would have guessed at least eleven!"

She giggled again, then asked "Why are you sleeping in your clothes in the guestest room?"

Marty looked down and realized he was still fully clothed except for his boots. He had been more tired than he had realized if he was able to sleep in jeans all night. "I guess I was just tired. I'm a friend of your daddy's and he's letting me stay here for a couple days. What's your name and what do you do around here for fun?"

"Krissy. I like stories and I like to play with my zoo" was the soft reply.

"A zoo? Really? I love zoos! Would you show it to me?" he responded. She looked at him for a second and then put out her hand. He took it and got up from the bed.

She led him into what was obviously her play room. It was full of stuffed animals and books. She told him where to lie down and he did so, lying on his stomach, watching as the serious little girl gathered her menagerie. She carefully and methodically placed each animal in a semicircle around his position. When she was done, she got several books and brought them over to him. "Will you read to us?" she asked.

Marty melted into the floor. This little girl was so adorable. He asked her which book was her favorite and she pulled one out of the pile and handed it to him. "Where are you going to sit?" he asked her. She looked around the room realizing she hadn't made a space for herself. "I bet you'd have a great view of this book and can read along if you sit on my back" he suggested. She hesitated and then ran over to him, jumping on his back, earning an OOMPH from him that caused her to giggle again.

A short while later Stan was heading to the kitchen for his morning coffee when he heard a male voice and that of his four year old daughter coming from the play room. He peeked through the door and almost fell over seeing his shy little girl laying on Marty's back with her arms dangling on either side of his head while he read a book to her. Her head was pressed up against his ear and she laughed as Marty read the book in different voices and made noises where appropriate. He backed away from the door and went to get his phone (for the camera) and his wife (so she could see for herself). The two of them watched from the doorway, the LA detective and their child too wrapped up in each other to be aware of their presence. Stan took several pictures of the two of them together, even catching one where they were eye to eye talking seriously over some element or another from the children's book the detective was reading. He had never seen his daughter take to anyone so quickly. She was usually so shy and would hide behind either him or Cheryl when there were strangers around. Apparently his daughter was as taken with the younger man as he and his wife were.

Leaving them to their story time, Cheryl went to the kitchen and started making breakfast; Stan went back to the bedroom to dress for the workday. When everything was ready, Cheryl called upstairs for everyone to come and get it. Stan was the first down, followed by Krissy leading Marty to the kitchen so he wouldn't get "losted". "Good morning" said Marty as sat at the place set for him at the table. No sooner had he sat down then Krissy crawled up into his lap. Stan watched as the LA detective made room for his young daughter without appearing to even think about it. He still couldn't get over how natural the two of them were together.

"So, what are your plans for the day?" asked Stan.

Marty looked momentarily lost, he obviously had not thought that far in advance. "Um, I need to go to the…" he paused looking down at the little girl in his lap, changing his words to "I need to go see Janie. Then I think I'll head into downtown, take a look around, kill some time." he responded.

"I'll take you to see Janie on my way into work and then, why not come into work with me? Take a look around; see what our station looks like?" Stan offered. It really wasn't what he had planned to do today, but once made, the offer made sense. Marty could sign the necessary paperwork to release Janie's body to be taken to the airport for their flight. Then he could poke around, talk to some of his guys. If his first impression was anything to go by, most of the rest of his team would become his friends before the end of shift.

Marty stared at him as if gauging the sincerity of his offer, then nodded yes. "I'd be honored Stan."


	8. Chapter 8: Undercover

I received some feedback from a guest reviewer that this chapter allowed Marty to get in with the bad guys too easily. After reading it over again, I realized they were right. So, I've changed it up a little to see if I could make it better, let me know what you think. Thanks to everyone for the kind words and reviews!

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Chapter 8: Undercover

After finishing up breakfast, Marty took a quick shower and changed into clean clothes. He and Stan then headed downtown, their first stop being the morgue where he made all the appropriate arrangements and signed all the necessary paperwork to take Janie home. Stan had gone in with him, offering silent support. Marty wasn't sure what he had done to earn Stan's friendship so quickly, but he was grateful for it. At least he hadn't had to identify the body; the Rhoades had taken care of it before washing their hands of her. He wasn't sure if he would've been able to get through that particular experience.

Once done, they headed over to Stan's precinct where Marty was introduced to the other detectives he worked with. They were all welcoming except for one detective, John Parsons. His reaction to Deeks was all too familiar. He looked Deeks over from head to foot and then sneered "LAPD must really have to scrape the bottom of the barrel in order for you to have made detective."

Deeks was used to it so it really didn't bother him but Stan was livid and immediately defended him. "Don't talk about what you don't know about Parsons!" Parsons merely shrugged and went back to his desk to work. "He's a tool." he told Marty.

"Stan, don't sweat it. I've heard worse." Marty replied and wandered over to a white board containing information the team had on an ongoing investigation.

Stan stood next to him and walked him through the board. This was an ongoing undercover operation trying to get to the leader of a local ring that was supplying drugs to half the city. They had someone in but he hadn't been able to get close to the boss yet or get any real intel on when/how the shipments of drugs were received. These guys were cautious. Marty looked at the pictures they had up of the local players. He pointed at one and said "I know this guy, Lenny Spears."

Stan looked at him in surprise and asked "How do you know him?"

"It was from an undercover op back in LA a couple years ago. Lenny was a runner for a local drug dealer. I was undercover as one of my aliases, Max Gentry. We got the head guy and most of the gang, but Lenny managed to escape. Max was arrested with the rest of them. Looks like Lenny migrated north. He's not the brightest bulb in the box; his escape was probably more pure dumb luck than any skill on his part."

Stan looked at Marty with the beginnings of an idea and voiced it to him. "Any chance your cover is still intact? If so, would you be interested in going under here? Just one afternoon; to introduce my guy to Lenny and see what develops from there?"

Marty hesitated. He hated Max Gentry and this wasn't a sanctioned LAPD operation, but it wouldn't be for more than a couple hours and Stan had been kind to him. "I'm in." he said.

Marty and Stan worked with the other detectives assigned to the op and mapped out a story. Parsons, of course, was strongly against this plan, convinced that the scruffy LAPD cop was going to blow the whole operation and ruin months of hard work, not to mention probably getting their guy killed. The others, however, were on board and overrode him. The plan was that "Max" would show up at a local bar where Lenny hung out. He would accuse Lenny of following him, putting him on the defensive and, hopefully, not allowing him to wonder too much why Max had suddenly shown up. They were able to get word of the plan to the detective who was undercover. He would also be at the bar and would pretend to know Max. The hope was that the connection to Max Gentry would give him an in, allay any suspicions about him being a cop and get him closer to the inner circle.

Marty pulled on the worn and battered leather jacket Stan provided. The rest of Max's "costume" was pretty much what Marty normally wore, worn jeans, t-shirt and boots. He started to get into the character, letting the violent personality of Max subsume his real identity as Marty. Once he felt ready, he nodded to Stan. "Let's do this."

They left the precinct and headed towards one of the seamier parts of town. Stan let "Max" out of the nondescript car he was driving a few blocks from The High Street Bar & Grill where Lenny hung out. "Be careful Marty" Stan warned "I'm sure you know these guys play for keeps."

"Been here, done this before Stan, but, thanks." Marty replied and walked away. Stan watched him go and realized that "Max's" walk was different from that he come to recognize as the free and easy way Marty Deeks normally walked. It was more controlled, more focused, almost…violent. He hoped this wasn't a mistake. He didn't want to send Marty home with his sister in a matching coffin.

Max walked into the bar and scanned the room. Lenny wasn't there but he recognized the undercover cop from a photo Stan had showed him, his cover name was Ronny St. Clair. He was sitting with a couple other guys that he recognized from the op board, mid-level help. He acted surprised to see Ronny and wandered up to the group saying "Long time no see, Ronny" and shook hands with him. Max sat down without being asked and ordered bourbon from the waitress, looking her up and down like she was a piece of meat. She scurried away and he turned to look at Ronny. Detective Adam Rollins, aka Ronny St. Clair, wasn't really sure what to make of this new guy. Stan had vouched for him and it had seemed like a golden opportunity had dropped into their laps. However, this guy didn't act like any undercover cop he had ever worked with. His demeanor was way too similar to the lowlifes he had been hanging around with for the last several months, still, he had no real choice but to follow the plan.

"What's up Max? What are you doing in town? How did you find me?" he asked.

Max replied "Getting too hot in LA in more ways than one, so I'm working my way up the coast to see what trouble I can get into or cause. As for finding you, I wasn't looking for you. Had no idea you were in this area. I've been hitting most of the bars around here trying to find some fun." The waitress put the bourbon on the table and he eyed her again. This time she didn't rush away but instead returned his look with one of interest. "See something you like babe?" he asked. She flung her long hair over her shoulder and walked away, putting a little more sway in her hips than necessary. The others at the table laughed. Marty wondered to himself, what caused some women to be attracted to pond scum like Max. He just didn't get it. Ronny introduced him as Max to the other two guys, Freddy and Rich, letting them know that Max was not a guy to be messed with. Neither man looked particularly impressed.

The door opened and Lenny walked in. He headed towards the bar and Max exploded out of his seat. Before Lenny had a chance to even know what hit him, Max had him up against the wall, his forearm pressing on Lenny's windpipe. "What the hell are you doing here Lenny? Are you following me? Are you working for the cops? Awful big coincidence that you managed to escape getting arrested down in LA and now you're here. If I find out it was you that blew the whistle on that sweet little operation, I'll cut you into such little pieces they'll have to pick you up with tweezers!"

Lenny gasped and tried to talk but couldn't get anything out over the pressure on his throat. Ronny grabbed Max and pulled him away from Lenny. "Max, it's cool! Lenny has been here for months, he couldn't possibly have been following you." he yelled.

Lenny stayed up against the wall, gasping for breath, a red bar showing across his throat where Max's arm had been pressing. When he could finally get his voice to work Lenny asked Max "What are you doing here Max? When did you get out of the joint?"

Freddy and Rich had not moved from the table, waiting to see how the whole thing played out. They watched with interest as the newly introduced Max almost killed that little twit Lenny. Max shrugged Ronny off and advanced on Lenny again, causing the smaller man to try to cringe backwards but there wasn't any where for him to go. His back was already against the wall. "I've been out for a few months Len, haven't been able to get much going after spending two years in the pen. I'm on the cop's radar now. How did you get away?" Max asked him harshly.

"I was just lucky! I was in the bathroom when the raid went down and I went out the window!" Lenny replied quickly. To anyone in the bar who was watching, it was obvious he wanted no part of an angry Max. Max backed off and Lenny eased away from the wall. Lenny looked at Ronny and voiced his thanks for vouching for him. He waited to see what Max and Ronny would do.

Max looked him in the eye and said "You better not be lying Lenny. You don't want to see me angry." Lenny blanched, thinking if what he had just experienced _wasn_ ' _t_ him being angry, then he really didn't want to even know what a really angry Max was like.

Max and Ronny walked back to their table and sat down. Max downed his bourbon and motioned to the little waitress for another refill. Lenny inched his way over to the table, unable to resist trying to become part of the group. Max shot him a baleful glare but didn't stop him from sidling into an open chair at the table. He needed him there to give some back story to Max. The waitress brought him his bourbon, along with a napkin with her phone number on it. He gently prodded Lenny into telling stories about Max from his time in LA. Things he had heard about Max on the street, things he, himself, had seen Max do. The stories all boiled down to one thing, Max Gentry was not a nice man and was not to be messed with. Max nursed his last bourbon and let the conversation spin around and over him.

Freddy and Rich finally looked at Max with interest. "We might be able to use a guy like you, if you're interested." Freddy said.

"Thanks, but Tacoma is not exactly where I want to retire. No offense to your fair city. I plan on heading back to LA once things calm down. I got enough cash to keep me off the streets until that happens. Gonna see a little more of the coast before I head back" replied Max. Freddy and Rich turned to Ronny and started asking more questions about him and Max, Ronny taking the opportunity to play up his own back story. It looked like their ruse had worked and Ronny was now on their radar as someone who could be trusted. He figured he'd need to hang around for another hour or two before he could legitimately head out. He desperately wanted to shed Max and take a hot shower to wash the stink off him.

Once he felt he had spent enough time for it not to be suspicious that he was leaving, Max stood and stretched. "Nice to meet you boys. Ronny, good luck with everything. I got a phone call to make and a little waitress to make scream my name." he said as he started to head for the door. He looked back at the group of men sitting at the table and then focused on Lenny, pointing his chin at him. "If this one gives you any trouble, let Ronny know. He knows how to get in touch with me and I would be happy to come back and deal with Mr. Spears." Lenny looked like he was ready to piss his pants. The rest of the group just laughed. Max walked out the door of the bar and started towards the designated meeting place where Stan would pick him up, trying to become Marty once more. He texted Stan from the burn phone they had given him to let him know he was done and on his way.

When he got into the car, he heaved a sigh, put his head back and closed his eyes. "How did it go?" Stan asked.

"I think it went well. The two guys with Ronny at the bar offered me a job. I turned it down and played up my trust in Ronny to the max, no pun intended. Might have had to get a little rough with Lenny though. Hoping the stories Lenny told about Max will be enough to make them think Ronny can be trusted, seeing as Max trusts him." Marty responded. "I really hate Max Gentry."

Stan put the car in gear and headed back to the precinct where Marty dropped off the jacket and reassured the other detectives that Rollins was alive and healthy and it looked like he was well on his way to getting a meet and greet with the boss. Parsons was openly skeptical but the others thanked Marty for his efforts and asked him if he wanted to join them for some beers after work. He looked at Stan as he didn't want to inconvenience his host but he really would like to spend some more time with these guys, anything to wash off the last few hours. Stan nodded enthusiastically and said "Just let me call Cheryl and tell her we'll be late."

A couple hours later, after saying good bye to the men at the local cop bar, Stan and Marty headed back to his house. Cheryl was waiting dinner on them and Krissy was over the moon to see her daddy and Uncle Marty come home. They spent a pleasant evening talking about their lives and experiences. The next day, Stan went to work and Cheryl took him around to see some of the sights of Tacoma, Krissy keeping up a steady conversation with her Uncle Marty from her car seat. When they got home, Marty helped Cheryl with dinner and played with Krissy. He thought about the fact that tomorrow he would be heading home with Janie and wished it was Friday already. Thursday was going to be a long day.


	9. Chapter 9: Homecoming

Chapter 9: Homecoming

Marty had tried hard to convince Stan and Cheryl that he could just take a cab to the airport. He didn't see why anyone had to get up early just to take him there. Of course, they wouldn't listen to him and they were all up Thursday morning to say good bye. Krissy was crying because he was leaving. He knelt down next to her and said "Hey Moppet! I need to go home, my dog Monty's waiting for me. He misses me when I'm away. How about I send you a picture of him and me when I get home? That way you can look at it and remember me. " He then leaned in and whispered in her ear "You know, Disneyland is in California, not too far from where I live. I think you need to start asking mom and dad if you can go there, and keep asking until they finally say yes. Then I can meet you and we can all go together. Deal?"

She nodded her head and then held out her stuffed monkey Abu. "Here. Abu will keep you company on the plane. I'll miss you!" She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him goodbye. He gave her a big hug and stood up, Abu carefully held in his arms.

"Let's get you home." said Stan.

Marty hugged Cheryl and said "Thanks for letting me become part of your family, it's something I haven't had in a really long time."

Cheryl hugged him back. "You better come back for another visit Marty Deeks. Family needs to spend time together." He smiled at her and, for the first time since she had met him, it reached his eyes. "My God" she thought, "if I wasn't married..." She and Krissy waved goodbye from the front door as Stan pulled out of the driveway and headed to the airport. Once they were out of sight, the two of them headed back into the house.

Stan and Marty made idle conversation during the short trip. When they pulled into the drop off zone, Marty gathered up his duffle bag and Abu, preparing to get out. Stan put a hand on his arm to stop him. "Krissy isn't the only one who'll miss you Marty. I know we've only known each other a few days, but I feel like it's been forever. I really hope we can keep in touch." Stan paused and looked at Marty seriously. "The Lieutenant was impressed with your undercover work. Rollins gave him an earful during his last check in, told him he'd never seen anything like it. He told me to tell you, if you're ever looking for a change of scenery, there's an opening for you here."

Marty smiled at him "I'll keep that in mind my friend. Let me know how things work out for Ronny." They shook hands and Marty got out of the car. He walked into the airport while Stan watched him go. Once he was out of sight, Stan sighed and pulled away. Time to head into work and start another day putting away one bad guy so another two could pop up to take his place.

Marty sat on the plane staring out the window. He had some decisions to make when he got back to Los Angeles, some for Janie and some for himself. Did he want to continue undercover for LAPD? Did he even want to stay in LA? He couldn't see himself leaving California and its beaches, maybe somewhere else on the coast? Was leaving NCIS the way he had the right thing to do? Maybe he should have confronted the rest of his team, let them know how hurtful their words and actions were. Give them a chance to explain. He was so deep in thought that the time passed quickly and they were on the ground at LAX before he knew it. When he got off the plane, he turned his phone back on and immediately got a text message from Stan. He opened it to find a picture of himself and Krissy that Stan had somehow managed to take during their story time that first morning. Underneath were the words, Remember us! He smiled, like he would ever be able to forget. It didn't escape his notice that he had not heard from any of his ex-NCIS teammates.

Once off the plane, he showed his badge to the attendant manning the desk, explaining that he was accompanying a body from Tacoma to LA and would like to be there to oversee the transfer from the cargo hold to the hearse he could see waiting through the windows. They had him escorted down to the tarmac and left him alone. He watched in silence as the bags came off first and then there she was. The coffin was carefully unloaded from the underbelly of the plane. He felt so lost and alone at that moment. In that wooden box was the last person he could call family. Then he realized that she really wasn't the last of his family. Somewhere out there was Ray under his wit sec alias. Plus, he had new family now in the form of the Schuler's. As he watched the coffin being wheeled towards the hearse, he felt a large hand placed on his right shoulder. Looking over, he was stunned to see Sam, dressed in his naval dress blues, complete with cap.

Sam looked at him and nodded, then faced forward again to watch the coffin's movement not removing his hand from Marty's shoulder. To Sam's right were Nell and Eric, both dressed up as well. Eric was even wearing pants. He hadn't had the time to process what was going on when another hand landed on his left shoulder. He was pretty sure who it was and, when he turned, he found himself looking into Callen's eyes as expected. Callen smiled at him and nodded. To his left were Hetty and Kensi. "Wh..what are you all doing here?" he stammered.

Sam looked at him and said "This is a time when families need to come together. We may not always get along and we may, sometimes, go too far, but you are family Marty and we wanted to be here for you and for Janie."

Callen added "We don't want you to leave the team Marty. We just aren't as good without you." Marty was stunned. He would never in a million years have expected them all to be here for them, to hear them saying these things. He felt his heart lighten and he realized he had never really wanted to leave NCIS. For better or worse, it had become home.


	10. Chapter 10: Epilogue

Updated with feedback from my better half, who finally read this. Married 30 years and apparently I can still surprise him!

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Chapter 10: Epilogue

Monday morning, Marty stood by the side of the grave, not really listening to the words of the preacher that the funeral home had provided. He had decided to have Janie cremated and buried with his mom. He figured they could keep each other company. He looked at the small grave stone bearing his mom's name and now Janie's. Burying his mom all those years ago had taken every bit of money they had had, even with some help from the state. There hadn't been anything left over for any kind of marker. He had saved every penny, from every part time job he could get until he could afford the stone that now graced her, their, grave.

He looked around him, still surprised at the number of people who had shown up. His team from NCIS was there along with some of the other agents and staff who he had always made a point of saying hello to. Bates was there from LAPD along with Versey and several other detectives and beat cops. Versey, now that was a shock. Stan and Cheryl had flown down for the funeral but had left Krissy at home with Cheryl's parents. They were going to take the rest of the week as a second honeymoon. Anyone who wanted to was going out for drinks afterwards. Not surprisingly, the Shuler's had fit right in with his NCIS team, after a little posturing from Sam and Callen when Stan let it slip that his Lieutenant had all but offered Marty a job. He had decided to take the full two week vacation that had been granted to him. While he had agreed to go back to NCIS, he had still wanted some free time to clear his head.

As promised, he had texted Stan a picture of Monty and him, along with Abu, for Krissy. Stan had told him that his little girl had insisted on him printing it and putting it in a frame. It now sat on the table beside her bed. That seemed appropriate as the picture of Krissy and him during story time had also made it into a frame and would sit on his desk once he returned to the Mission, next to his picture of Monty. He felt more centered now than he could ever remember. Maybe, one of these days, he would take Hetty up on her offer to become a full-fledged agent.

He turned back to the grave when the preacher finished and they began to fill in the grave. He sighed deeply and was surprised when a hand slipped into his. He looked over to see that it was Kensi. "How you holding up, partner?" she asked softly.

He squeezed her hand and said "Doing better all the time, partner."

He would always miss Janie but he hoped wherever she was, she was happier now.


End file.
